World News in Brief: January 10

Cambodia dispatched the eighth batch of 184 peacekeepers to Lebanon on January 9 to replace the seventh group, whose one-year United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has come to an end.

* Myanmar will launch Mekong-Lancang Cultural Exchange Youth Camp with the use of Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Fund, aiming at enhancing cooperation between cultural groups and youth artists from six Mekong-Lancang countries, Myanmar News Agency reported on January 10.

* The Republic of Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed the offer by Kim Jong-un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to resume inter-Korean cooperation projects during his New Year press conference on January 10.

* The DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping had in-depth discussions on how to "jointly study and steer" the situation on the Korean peninsula and denuclearisation talks, DPRK's state media KCNA said on January 10.

* Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel replaced his transport and finance ministers this week in his first cabinet reshuffle since forming his own government in July and amid a cash crunch and growing discontent with the island's transport sector.

* Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said it would be against British people's interests to leave the European Union without an exit deal, but declined to say how the government would respond if parliament refused to back its Brexit plans.

* Mexican authorities will meet with Central American officials to prepare for the arrival of a planned new caravan of migrants headed to the United States next week.

* Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a state-owned Israeli technology company, announced on January 9 that it has sold the US military "Trophy" protection systems for vehicles in a deal worth US$200 million.

* Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on January 9 called on the public to be patient and cooperative as the government's strategy to combat fuel theft disrupted supplies to gas stations, leading to long lines of vexed motorists.

* German officials are racing to bolster cyber security after a far-reaching data breach carried out by a 20-year-old student laid bare the vulnerability of Europe’s largest economy ahead of a critical European Parliament election in May.